Pipe and coil cleaner apparatus



June 24, 1958 J. SUCHECKI PIPE AND con. CLEANER APPARATUS Filed March15, 1957 INVENTOR. JoszF doc/7 5cm 2,839,768 Patented June 24, 1958United States Patent Ofice PiPE AND COIL CLEANER APPARATUS JosefSuchecki, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Herbert Horwitz, New York, N. Y.

Application March 15, 1957, Serial No. 646,437

2 Claims. 61. 15-351 This invention relates to devices for cleaningpipes and coils of pipes and apparatus, and is directed particularly todevices adapted for the use of hard, swirling beads for that purpose.

Pipes normally used to convey beer, milk and other liquids often becomefouled with deposits or incrustations from such liquids, whichmaterially affect them.

In some cases, the deposits may be removed by mechanical means. In moreinstances, owing to. the coiled configuration of the piping as in thedispensing of beer, it is not possible to do so. In that case it isnecessary to use a detergent solution andcause it to circulaterepeatedly through the pipe. Next the pipe must be carefully rinsed withwater to. removethe cleaning solution. This method is bothtime-consuming and expensive because of the uneconomic utilization ofdetergent. It has been proposed to employ cleaning beads for cleaningpipes, but even though this proposal was made over twenty-five yearsago, it has not been followed, because the device employing the samewere not able to operate at full pressure, lost the beads in variousways,

' duit 50 connects with the lower opening 48.

ily adaptable for use in cleaning pipes in a wide variety of liquid flowpipe systems.

Another object of my invention is to provide a pipe cleaning apparatusof the character described which is efiicient in operation, and whichallows ready continuous inspection during operation of the degree towhich cleaning has been accomplished. a

It is another object of my invention to provide a pipe cleaningapparatus of the above nature which forces a quantity of hard, swirlingbeads through the pipes being cleaned, and which is actuated by thepressure of the water to automatically periodically change the directionin which the water and beads are being forced through the pipes.

It is still another object of my invention to provide a pipe cleaningapparatus of the above nature to which a motorcan readily be attachedfor increasing water pressure where service pressure is too lowforefiicient operation, or where more vigorous cleaning action isdesired in a particular case.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be apparentfrom the following description, especially when read with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals'denote correspondingparts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a pipe cleanerembodying the invention; I

, Fig. 2 is another partially schematic view of the flow reversalslidevalve portion of a manually operated modi- Referring now in detail toFig. 1, the improved pipe cleaner, designated generally byreferencenumeral 10, comprises a water turbine actuating mechanism 12, aflow reversal valve 14 and a two-part flow chamber 16. The water turbineflow mechanism 12 comprises a water input conduit 18 which is enlargedat one side to form a cylindrical turbine wheel housing 20 from which aconduit 22 leads to the slide valve 14. A turbine wheel 24 is rotatablyjournaled within the housing 20 and operative to be turned by thepressure of water flowing through water input conduit 18. The turbinewheel shaft at the outside of the housing 20 is fitted with a piniongear 26 in mesh with an intermediate gear 28. The intermediate gear 28is fixed to a rotatably journaled shaft 30 upon which is fixed a piniongear 32. The pinion gear 32 is in mesh with a rotatably journaled valveactuating gear 34 provided with an outwardly-extending off-center pin36, which controls operation of. the slide valve 14 in the mannerhereinbelow' more fully described.

The flow reversal slide valve 14, preferably constructed of brass,comprises a cylindrical housing 38 having a central cylindrical bore 40.The housing 38 is provided in its sidewall with an upper pair of alignedopposed openings 42, 44, and a lower pair of aligned opposed openings46, 48. The water supply conduit 22 connects with the upper opening 44and a discharge con- Slidably disposed within the housing 38 is acylindrical slide member 52 having an upper annular concavity 54 and alower annular concavity 56. With the position of the slide member 52 inthe, housing 38 as illustrated in Fig. l,

the upper and lower annular concavities 54 and 56 are in register withthe upper and lower pair of aligned opposed openings 42, 44 and 46, 48,respectively, so that there is communication between the openings 42 and44, and between the openings 46 and 48. The slide member 52 isvalsoprovided with a pair of crossing, longitudinally-extending S-bores58, 60 operative, when said slide member is in its uppermost position asillustrated in Fig. 2, to effect communication between openings 44 and46, and between openings 42 and 48 in the housing 38. The upper end ofthe slide member 52 is provided with a cylindrical bore 62 within whichis resiliently constrained by means of upper and lower coil springs 64,66 a circular flange fixed at the lower end of a connecting rod 70. Theupper coil spring 64 is held in place by a screw cap 72 threaded in theupper end of the bore 62. A bushing cap 74 screwed about the upper endof the housing 38 seals the slide member 52 with respect thereto. Theupper end of the connecting rod 70 is secured to a rectangular followercage 76 within which projects the off-center pin 36 of thevalve-actuating gear 34. Off center turning of the pin 36 in the cage 76operates to move the connecting rod 70 from one vertical position toanother during each half circle of revolution of the gear 34, wherebythe slide member 52 will be moved in the valve housing 36 from theposition illustrated in Fig. 1 solid lines to the position illustratedby dotted lines, and back again to the position illustrated in solidlines for each full circle of revolution of the gear; Detent means areprovided for temporarily resiliently locking the slide member 52 in oneor the other of its two operating positions,and comprise a detentplunger 78 resiliently supported within-an opening in a boss 80 formedat the lowermost'end of slide valve housing 38 by means of a spring 82and screw cap 84. The inner end of the detent plunger 78 enters one orthe other of grooves 86 and 88 provided in the lower end of the slidemember 52, depending upon in which of the two operating positions theside member is. The resiliency of the springs 64 and 66 operating uponthe connecting rod 70, serves to providerapid snap action in themovement of the slide member from one position to the other so thatblocking of water fiow during operation of the device due to valveswitching is-kep't to a minimum.

The two-part flow chamber 16 comprises a base cap member 90 atits lowerend, a top cap member 92 at its upper end and a central divider wallmember 94 held in spaced relation by an upper cylindrical glass Wall 96and a lower cylindrical glass wall 98, the whole assembly securedtogether by a central bolt to provide upper and lower sealed chambers102 and 10 The upper ends of the chambers 1.02 and 104 are fitted withwire mesh screens 106 and 163, respectively. Contained within thetwo-part flow chamber 16 are a quantity of spherical glass beads 110which are washed between the upper and lower chambers 102 and 104through the pipes being cleaned when the device is in operation, as ishereinbelow more fully explained. These beads should be preferably about0.005 inch in diameter and are obtainable from Acme Glass Products, 17East 17th Street, New York 3, N. Y.

A conduit 112 is connected between an opening 114 in the top cap member92 and the upper opening 42 in the valve slide housing 38. An opening116 in the divider wall member 94 and communicating with the lowerchamber 104 is connected by means of a conduit 118 to the lower opening46 in the valve slide housing 38. An opening 120 in the divider wallmember 94 and communicating with the lower end of the upper chamber 102is connected with an output'conduit 122, and an opening 124m the basecap member 90 and communicating with the lower end of the lower chamber104 is connected with an output conduit 126.

The outer ends of output conduits 122 and 126 expand into flanges 128,130, which join with respective expanded ends of output conduits 132,134' to form chambers 136, 138 within each of which is disposed in fixedposition a bundle of short twisted metal tubes 140, 142 of a diametersufficient to permit passage of beads 110 therethrough, which serve toimpart a twisting force tothe water and the glass beads 110 astheyflowinto the pipes being cleaned.

In operation, the force of water flowing through the input conduit 1t;will revolve the turbine wheel 24 setting the valve slide mechanism inoperation through the speed reduction mechanism composed of the gears26, 28, 32 and 34. When the slide valve 14 is in the position ofoperation illustrated in Fig. 1, water will fiow through conduits 22 and112 as indicated by the arrows, and into the upper chamber 102 throughthe wire mesh screen 106. The water under pressure will then be forced,together with the crystal pearls 110, through output conduit 122 andthrough the twisted metal tubes 140 into the pipe to be cleaned with atwisting motion to achieve maximum cleaning action and remove adherentmatter. The water and crystal beads will return through conduit 126 intothe lower chamber 104, where they will be separated by the screeningaction of the wire mesh 108. The water will be discharged from the lowerchamber 104 through conduit 118, through the opening formed by theannular groove 56, and through discharge conduit 50.

When the slide valve is in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the waterwill flow in the reverse direction through the lower'and upper chambers104, 102, as indicated by the flow arrows in Fig. 2, so that the waterand beads will flow from the lower chamber back through the bundle oftwisted tubes 142 and through the pipe being cleaned into the upperchamber, where the crystal pearls will remain by virtue of the screeningaction of wire mesh screen 106 and from which the used water will bedischarged through conduit 112, S-bore 60, and discharge conduit 50. Theclarity of the water flowing through the tube being cleaned can beobserved in the chambers 102, 104 through their glass or transparentplastic walls, to provide constant supervision of the cleaning operationprogress.

If the supply water pressue is too low for proper cleaning and actuationof the valve mechanism, an electric motor can be applied to the turbinegear mechanism for force feeding. i

A still less complicated modification which has given excellent resultsis illustrated in Fig. 2. In this embodiment, connecting rod 70,by meansof which water reversal is achieved, is operated manually by means of aandle pivoted at 152 on a support 154 mounted on top cap 92.Tofacilitate manual operation, spring means 64 and 66 shown in Fig. lare omitted. The loose connection "between handle 150 and valve stem maybe conventional, such being schematically shown in Fig. 2.

In operation when the observer sees that all the heads have settled in,for example, chamber 102, he moves handle 150 the opposite way toreverse water flow and cause the beads to re-circulate or reciprocatethrough the pipe to be cleaned.

I In the case of particularly strongly adherent matter, it may bedesirable to use certain chemicals of an acidic or basic charactersuitable for dissolving such matter, in conjunction with the beads. Suchchemicals may be introduced with the cleaning water or together with thebeads.

Obviously the apparatus of the invention may be adapted for thesimultaneous cleaning of many pipes in which case a plurality ofchambers such as 102 and 104 as well as several additional conduitsleading to the pipes are necessary.

.While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is tobe understood that various changes in shape or proportion, as well asthe substitution of equivalent elements for those herein shown anddescribed may be made without departing from the spirit of my inventionand the principlesinvolved.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for cleaning a liquid flow pipe, the combinationcomprising a first chamber having an output conduit in communicationwith the interior thereof, a second chamber having an output conduit incommunication with the interior thereof, said conduits being adapted forconnection to the ends of a pipe to be cleaned, means for supplyingcleaning water, reciprocable valve means interconnecting said first andsecond chamber members with said water supply means and operative whenactuated to alternately conduct water into one of said chamber membersand then to the other, said valve means comprising means for dischargingwater from the chamher to which water is not being conducted, a quantityof hard beads in said chambers, screen means for preventing said beadsfrom entering said valve means; automatic means controlled by said watersupply means for pcriodically shifting said valve means to force saidwater and beads'back and forth through the pipe to be cleaned, saidautomatic means comprising a water turbine in the water supply meansupstream of said valve means, a cage member resiliently connected tosaid reciprocable valve means, and an eccentrically rotating pinactuated by said water turbine and disposed within said cage member.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein at least one of said chambers istransparent to permit visual inspection of the flowing liquid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,094,168 Schlaepfer Apr.2 1, '1914 1,993,898 Renneisen Mar. 12, 19352,034,195 Marker Mar. 17,1936 2,081,510 Smart May 25, 1937 2,441,201Ludwig May 11, 1948 2,589,650 Wolcott Mar. 18, 1952

